8/10 vs New York Yankees and the Gay-Rod retirement tour

[Spudboy]

btw spud. about 2 months ago you said this was a .500 team in your opinion the rest of the way out. man that looks like a pretty good call right now. damn you! i blame you!

 

I certainly did not mean to jinx them. At that time the rotation was a total f***ing mess with 4 and 5 being a mixed bag of suck. That is why I said what I said.

 

E-Rod is back and DD went and got Pom Pom and I still have a bad feeling.

 

They need to go on a run and start today. This division is wide open because both Baltimore and Toronto have flaws. But by playing s***** so much of the time in July and August at least two other teams are in the hunt for the second wild card. Ugh.

 

I will watch all the games and remain hopeful never the less. It's what old time Sox fans do! You know!

[Maxbialystock]

Girardi had his guy drop out after less than 2 innings. His hands were tied more than Farrell's and yet he figured out his bullpen. Farrell just sat around waiting for someone else to do something, the exact opposite that Girardi did all night long.

 

Whoa, nellie. Surely you didn't expect Farrell to follow Girardi's lead and dump Pomeranz after 2 innings? When you look at the box score, the numbers are clear: Farrell had the good starter, but absolutely the worst bullpen. Even though Pomeranz went 5.1 innings and Eovaldi (Yankees starter) only went 1 inning, the Sox ended up using 7 pitchers to the Yankees 8. In the 7th inning alone Farrell sent three guys out there--Barnes, Abad, and Tazawa--and they all s*** their pants giving up 3, 2, and 2 runs, which was basically the ballgame. If you leave Buch in for the 7th, those three clowns still come out and give away the farm in the 8th inning.

 

And let's not forget the abysmal Sox hitting. A Yankees pitcher named Clippard pitched 1 inning and gave up 3 hits and a walk but no runs. Farrell sent out 4 relievers--Barnes,Abad, Tazawa, and Ross--with ERA's of 3.48, 3.19, 3.96, and 3.89 and they gave up 3, 2, 2, and 1 run. Why was that Farrell's fault?

[a700hitter]

Please reread what you wrote. First you said Farrell did the right thing when he brought Buchholz into the game, then that he is "beyond stupid" and "has no game sense." Both can't be true.

The statements are absolutely not mutually exclusive. A blind squirrel finds the occasional nut. Even the biggest dope of a manager makes some right moves.

 

As illinoisox points out, you are also assuming that, once Buchholz pitched through the 7th, the bullpen would have somehow transformed itself into something reliable when in fact we know that they are in complete disarray. We just saw Kimbrel--you know, the $9M closer--implode in the worst possible fashion. Ziegler has problems when hitters ignore his unusual delivery and just focus on the ball and hit it. Barnes, Abad, Ross, et al actually pitched last night and were terrible. At some point I think you have to admit that the players have some responsibility for the outcome of games.

Of course the players have responsibility for winning or losing games. Who is giving them a free pass? The manager is supposed to utilize the personnel in the best manner to get a positive outcome. He is supposed to know the right guy on the roster for the right situation. Farrell had a good arm on the mound and removed him after 3 pitches. Buch has done well in relief, but after 3 pitches he decided to go to his Forest Gump "Box of Chocolates". If Buch get him through the 7th, he van go to his more reliable late inning guys.

 

Speaking of which, the lineup also stank. Early on they twice had the bases loaded with one man out and only brought in one run each time. Then they started an inning with men on 2d and 3d and no one out with the top of the order coming up. Pedroia drove in one, but only one more scored.

The offense produced a lot of base runners and did score 4 runs and likely would have scored more if Buttermilk didn't send a runner to his death at home plate with one out and Ortiz on deck. I lump coaching mistakes in with the manager by extension. And once in a while the pitching has to win games and pick up the offense when it puts up 4 or less runs.

 

I am fine with blaming Farrell for overall wins and losses. I am not saying his job his by any means secure. But I am saying that your rhetoric about Farrell being beyond stupid and having no game sense is not defensible.

 

My version is that he brought Buchholz, our long reliever, in to get the Sox into the 7th inning when the regulars would take over. I would even agree that Buchholz could have stayed in to the end of the game because he's gone over 3 before and done well. Of course, that would then make starting on Saturday problematical.

Buch should have had no problem throwing to a few more batters without endangering his Saturday start -- which by the way, he wouldn't be making if brain dead Farrell didn't use Wright as a pich runner.

[a700hitter]

Of course, that assumes Buchholz wouldn't have imploded as well (he only faced 1 guy). Abad looked good for 1 hitter (struck Gardner out).

 

Barnes has been very good the last 4 times out; I could have seen leaving Buchholz in but I can make a case for using Barnes there as well.

True, but Buch has pitched well in relief. Edited August 11, 2016 by a700hitter

[mvp 78]

because clearly Taz was the answer to putting out the fire last night. of course.

 

Girardi proactively managed his bullpen. Farrell reactively managed his. Which team won?

[mvp 78]

if he's not willing to help the team and run the bases then he can go pound sand. how many times has Ortiz picked him up? or the Red Sox up? Wright can't do it one god d@mn time and pinchrun for him? eff him then. he can go get bent.

 

I don't even know what this argument is here.

[Maxbialystock]

The statements are absolutely not mutually exclusive. A blind squirrel finds the occasional nut. Even the biggest dope of a manager makes some right moves.

 

Of course the players have responsibility for winning or losing games. Who is giving them a free pass? The manager is supposed to utilize the personnel in the best manner to get a positive outcome. He is supposed to know the right guy on the roster for the right situation. Farrell had a good arm on the mound and removed him after 3 pitches. Buch has done well in relief, but after 3 pitches he decided to go to his Forest Gump "Box of Chocolates". If Buch get him through the 7th, he van go to his more reliable late inning guys.

 

The offense produced a lot of base runners and did score 4 runs and likely would have scored more if Buttermilk didn't send a runner to his death at home plate with one out and Ortiz on deck. I lump coaching mistakes in with the manager by extension. And once in a while the pitching has to win games and pick up the offense when it puts up 4 or less runs.

 

Buch should have had no problem throwing to a few more batters without endangering his Saturday start -- which by the way, he wouldn't be making if brain dead Farrell didn't use Wright as a pich runner.

 

Actually, you are giving the players a free pass, especially the four relievers who gave up 8 runs in 2 innings. Farrell made a reasonable choice in having Buch finish up the 6th even though he was pitching Saturday and going to Barnes in the 7th. Remember Barnes? His last time out he rescued Kimbrel who left him the bases loaded by getting a big K. And here you are saying it was unreasonable to send Barnes out to pitch the 7th. Indeed, you rave about the brilliance of Girardi sending out pitcher after pitcher, not of whom pitched more than 2 innings, and complain when Farrell does the same thing. Indeed, in the decisive final 4 innings of the game, Farrell used more pitchers than Girardi. The difference was that Girardi's bullpen was getting guys out and our guys weren't. So, yes, you are giving the bullpen a complete pass.

 

About sending out Wright to run the bases and perform that Herculean task of maybe trying to score from 2B on a single. Did you notice that last night Ortiz had to be helped into the dugout? Did you then notice him tonight, 9 years older and 50 pounds heavier than Wright, scoring from 2B on a single?

 

And think about this. If Farrell had followed Girardi's lead and brought the bullpen in in the 2d inning, the Sox would have lost by 10 runs or more. Every decision he made was reasonable, but the bullpen failed him and us.

[a700hitter]

Actually, you are giving the players a free pass, especially the four relievers who gave up 8 runs in 2 innings. Farrell made a reasonable choice in having Buch finish up the 6th even though he was pitching Saturday and going to Barnes in the 7th. Remember Barnes? His last time out he rescued Kimbrel who left him the bases loaded by getting a big K. And here you are saying it was unreasonable to send Barnes out to pitch the 7th. Indeed, you rave about the brilliance of Girardi sending out pitcher after pitcher, not of whom pitched more than 2 innings, and complain when Farrell does the same thing. Indeed, in the decisive final 4 innings of the game, Farrell used more pitchers than Girardi. The difference was that Girardi's bullpen was getting guys out and our guys weren't. So, yes, you are giving the bullpen a complete pass.

 

About sending out Wright to run the bases and perform that Herculean task of maybe trying to score from 2B on a single. Did you notice that last night Ortiz had to be helped into the dugout? Did you then notice him tonight, 9 years older and 50 pounds heavier than Wright, scoring from 2B on a single?

 

And think about this. If Farrell had followed Girardi's lead and brought the bullpen in in the 2d inning, the Sox would have lost by 10 runs or more. Every decision he made was reasonable, but the bullpen failed him and us.

i am not at all giving the players a free pass. I am fully aware of how much our bullpen stinks. I am saying that brain dead Farrell made very bad choices in the game. Taking out Buch after 3 pitches was pointless and stupid. If he had so much faith in Barnes, he should have brought him in the 6th to get out of the jam and let him continue in the 7th. Apparently, he did not have faith enough in him to go to him in that situation. And bringing in a pitchers other that a lefty specialist for just 3 pitches is a waste.

 

Also, I didn't praise Girardi's genius. I don't have a high regard for any manager, never mind thinking they are brilliant. LOL!

[a700hitter]

 

About sending out Wright to run the bases and perform that Herculean task of maybe trying to score from 2B on a single. Did you notice that last night Ortiz had to be helped into the dugout? Did you then notice him tonight, 9 years older and 50 pounds heavier than Wright, scoring from 2B on a single?

I would have pinch run for Ortiz, but I would have used a position player or a bullpen puke, not one of our few good starters. Wright hasn't scored a run in a game since high school. It is quite a bit more intense at the major league level. It was an accident waiting to happen and it did happen. Stupidity justly rewarded.

 

And think about this. If Farrell had followed Girardi's lead and brought the bullpen in in the 2d inning, the Sox would have lost by 10 runs or more. Every decision he made was reasonable, but the bullpen failed him and us.

i never said that Farrell should have gone to the pen after the first inning. Get some decaf and calm down.

[Maxbialystock]

I like that. I don't agree with the part about all managers, including Girardi, but I love that you said it. And I am not being facetious or ironic or sarcastic.